Health Beat

If you are reading this, then you probably have an interest in taking action and getting involved with San Diego’s fundraising efforts in light of the Boston Marathon events. When I first started this campaign, I reached out to my network of friends, family and co-workers and the response has been overwhelming! I want to thank everyone that donated, encouraged and helped out with the efforts. I believe that just as individuals were able to get together and contribute what they could (money, time, social capital), so can businesses! I’m writing an open letter to ALL San Diego (and California) small businesses to join us in our efforts to raise funds for two causes: the Red Cross and Mr. Jeff Bauman Jr., a victim of the Boston Marathon explosions that lost both limbs during the blasts.

As of 4/22 at 4:50PM, we have raised $1,071, or 21% of our fundraising goals. We know we can reach our final goal of $5000 and with the help of our friends in the business community, we can even exceed it. Many have wondered how they would know if the fundraiser was legitimate or not. Beyond my open letter on my personal blog, the constant updates on Twitter and Facebook, as well as the updates within the campaign itself, I can also say that we’ve received some local media coverage from the SD Union Tribune, the Daily Aztec, as well as the Boston Magazine in Boston. We are currently working with our fundraising partner, IndieGoGo, to identify the safest and most transparent way to disburse the money according to our fundraising goals. I started this fundraiser to raise buzz within my social network, but it quickly grew and even reached Ireland, where one woman not only donated, but also connected with me and sent me links to articles being published in the Daily Mail (UK). Our fundraising campaign can be found here, along with relevant links to media coverage and updates on our efforts!

What am I asking for?

To cut to the chase, I am looking toward the San Diego small business community to match some of the fundraising efforts we are working toward. I am asking businesses to match 100%, 75%, 50% or 25% of our end-balance at the end of the IndieGoGo fundraiser. If that may be too much, then perhaps match some percent of our current balance (which again, as of 4/22 at 4:50 PM was $1,071). San Diego is a flourishing and entrepreneurial business community with a sense for social justice and social enterprise. If you believe in our cause and want to get involved, I urge you to please consider our campaign and consider matching some of our donations. And if money is not something you can spare, we welcome any and all opportunities to share our efforts with the greater San Diego community. We may be far away from Boston, but we are all united and thinking of our brothers and sisters in Boston and around the world!

If you are willing to get involved in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time at bogdan dot rau at gmail dot com. I welcome any inquiries and suggestions.

ALL UPDATES WILL BE POSTED ON OUR INDIEGOGO CAMPAIGN PAGE LOCATED HERE: http://igg.me/at/bm13/x/18935.

Please visit that page for up-to-date information and to see what we are doing! Please share that page with family, friends and co-workers!

As our brothers and sisters are recovering from the tragic events that transpired in Boston earlier today, San Diego stands together with Bostonians! While we believe in the thoughts and prayers that have been going out throughout the day on Facebook and Twitter, we are taking it a step further! Actions speak louder than words and this couldn’t be more applicable today and in the weeks to come!

We’ve started an online fundraising campaign through IndieGoGo aimed at providing financial assistance in two places:

While we are currently working to find the identity of this individual, our fundraising campaign is already underway to help defray the cost of care. We are reaching out to the San Diego community and we ask that you please consider donating to this cause. To do so, please go to http://bit.ly/SDSUlovesBoston. Additionally, we are committed to reaching and exceeding our fundraising goal and ask that our San Diego brothers and sisters help share this effort! We want to assure everyone that this is not an overnight charity / sham. This effort is led by a San Diego State University graduate student.

For more information, please email Bogdan Rau at bogdan.rau@gmail.com.

Please share this article as well as our fundraising webpage on Twitter using the hashtag #SDSUlovesBoston.

UPDATE (4/16 8:25PM): We are focusing our efforts on our IndieGoGo page available here: http://igg.me/at/bm13/x/18935. The most up-to-date information will be available on that page. Please consider sharing the page with your friends, family and co-workers. We are currently almost at the $400 mark! Thank you ALL for the contributions, sharing and assistance!

UPDATE (4/16 11:32AM): Our fundraising efforts and the #SDSUlovesBoston just hit the news! The San Diego Union Tribune has published a post about the movement found here. We are continuing our efforts to raise funds and identify our beneficiary!

UPDATE (4/15 11:37PM): We have also started a reddit post to share this campaign. If you are a current redditor, consider upvoting and commenting on our post found in the /r/sandiego subreddit. DIRECT LINK. Donations continue to slowly come through. Will keep posting updates as our campaign progresses! THANK YOU ALL!

UPDATE (4/15 10:36PM): Looks like we may have an ID on the man we are fundraising for! More updates to come as we verify the information we have. Thank you so much to the San Diego community for sharing this effort with family and friends! Please consider sharing this post or the IndieGogo page!

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It’s been dubbed the second deadliest school shooting in US history, after the 2007 Virginia Tech incident. If you’ve been watching the news, you’re probably already an expert in this tragedy. As opposed to previous gun massacres, this time around, the media has done a pretty good job at focusing on recovery rather than presenting the gory, rating-bringing details. But as I surfed the different channels covering Sandy Hook Elementary (and there were plenty), listening to discussions about gun control, gun violence and the factors playing into these incidents, few (if any) news commentators gave hard facts about gun ownership or gun deaths. And so, the journey for knowledge started; knowledge which I share with you in the figures and tables below. As a side note, I do not own a gun, although I will one day purchase one for my protection and leisure. Continue reading…